Lot 342

Alexander Hüning

An exceptionally decorative, thin Geneva gold enamel pocket watch

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The beautifully designed silver dial catches the eye immediately: the centre is finely engraved with a vase surrounded by leaf scrolls and filled with a bouquet of flowers. A large, sunk subdial for auxiliary seconds extends from the hand axis to the lower rim. At the outer edge of the dial is a narrow white enamel chapter ring with Roman hours. The bezels on both sides are decorated with blue champlevé enamel; the case band is artfully engraved with a border of stylised ears of corn, giving the watch a good feel.

Alexander Hüning (1855-1931) was most likely a native of Germany who went to Geneva around 1880 after completing his apprenticeship; he became a citizen of Geneva in 1898. In 1893 Hüning and Emile Fiebiger established the company Fiebiger & Huening at the Rue de Lévrier 13 in Geneva together, which Hüning continued on his own after Fiebiger’s death. He was particularly known for his fine, complicated pocket watches of supreme quality. An overview of Hüning’s life and his work is available in Klaus Pöhlmann’s "Alexander Hüning, ein deutscher Uhrmacher in der Schweiz" (a German maker in Switzerland), Klassik Uhren 1/2010, p. 24 ff.